Apparatus for altering permanent press garments



July 8, 1.969 J, DE o c 3,453,757

. APPARATUS FOR ALTERINCI PERMANENT PRESS GARMENTS med 0ct.l2, 1966 A I Sheet of 2 FIG. I

APPLY AouEouS CATALYTIC SOLUTION TO SELECTED AREA OF PERMANENT PRESS FASRTc' A PLACE MOISTENED SELECTED AREA IN MOISTURE-PROOF ENVELOPE APPLY HEAT TO SUPERHEAT STEAM IN ENVELOPE AND PRESSURE To oRlENT FIBERS DRY FABRIC AND HEAT-CURE RESIN INVENTOR JAMES R. DeLOACH ATTORNEY July 8, 1969 APPARATUS FOR ALTERING PERMANENT PRESS GARMENTS Filed Oct. 12, 1966 J. R. DE LOACH Sheet JAMES R. DeLOACH ATTORNFY United States Patent 3,453,757 APPARATUS FOR ALTERING PERMANENT PRESS GARMENTS James R. De Loach, Warrenville, S.C., assignor to Graniteville Company, Graniteville, S.C., a corporation of South Carolina Filed Oct. 12, 1966, Ser. No. 586,199 Int. Cl. D06f 79/00 US. Cl. 38-141 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to an apparatus useful in the altering of garments, and more particularly to an apparatus useful in the altering of creased garments made from a permanent press fabric and wherein the removal of existing creases and the desired recreasing of the fabric is facilitated.

In recent years, various methods have been developed for the resin treatment and subsequent curing of fabrics for imparting a wrinkle-resistant quality to garments during manufacture, and at the same time, applying permanent creases at the proper positions. For example, Patent No. 2,974,432 discloses that a fabric can be impregnated with urea formaldehyde resin before cutting and sewing a garment which is then desirably creased and pressed before curing the resin with heat in a dry atmosphere. The term permanent press as used herein refers to garments which have been so treated.

Permanent press garments present a problem when alterations are attempted because the permanently set crease is unsightly when the garment is altered in such a manner as to locate the crease in an undesired location. Moreover, it is difiicult, if not impossible, to put a new crease in the permanent press fabric after the garment has been altered. Consequently, in the case of permanent press trousers, trouser manufacturers have had to abandon the prior practice of selling uncuifed trousers to the retailer who then applied the cuffs according to the customers requirements. This prior practice was advantageous to the manufacturer because it eliminated the costly step of cuffing the trousers. It was also advantageous to the retailer because it reduced the size of his inventory, and to the customer because the length of the trousers were made to his specifications.

Now, in the case of permanent press trousers, the garment is cuffed at the time of manufacture before it is pressed and the resin impregnated fabric cured to permanently crease the garment. Consequently, the retailer must purchase trousers in a variety of lengths for each waist size. Obviously, this is unsatisfactory to the manufacturer, the retailer, and the consumer for the reasons noted above.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a novel method and means for removing creases from permanent press garments and for permanently recreasing the garment at the same or different locations as desired.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a novel method and means of depolymerizing the resin in a selected portion of a permanent press fabric after it has been resin-treated and cured.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel method and means of breaking the cross-links and/or 3,453,757 Patented July 8, 1969 depolymerizing the resin in only a selected portion of a permanent press fabric after it has been resin treated and cured, and thereafter smoothing or creasing said selected portion as desired, and finally curing the resin in said selected portion to impart a permanent press finish thereto.

It is a further object of this invention to provide the method and means described which can be carried out with readily available materials and relatively unskilled personnel in an extremely short time.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide an aqueous solution which acts as a catalyst in the curing or polymerization of thermo-setting resins used in permanent press finishes, which aqueous solution may be lightly sprayed on selected portions of a permanent pressfabric which has been resin treated and cured, confining said selected portion of the fabric in a substantially moisture impervious container, heating the container under pressure to generate steam from the moisture in the aqueous solution sprayed on said selected portion, and thereafter drying said selected portion under pressure to repolymerize the resin in said selected portion.

The catalyst may be packaged in any suitable container as for spray application to the selected portion of a permanent press fabric, and a conventional press or iron of the type conventionally used by tailors and launderers may be used to apply the required heat and pressure to the selected portion of the fabric. A simple inexpensive envelope or pouch of moisture impervious material may be used to enclose the selected area of the fabric after it has been treated with the aqueous solution and while it is subjected to heat and pressure.

As will be apparent from the foregoing stated objects, the invention is particularly adapted for use by tailors and others engaged in the alteration of garments. By means of the present invention those engaged in the manufacture and sale of mens trousers can postpone the cufiing of permanent press trousers until they have been fitted to the customer, as has long been the case with trousers made from other fabrics.

While the invention is described in connection with the alteration of a pair of mens trousers to fit cuffs on them, it is to be understood that the utility of the invention is not limited to altering trousers, but may be employed whenever it is desired to remove a crease or form a new permanent crease in fabric which has been resin treated and cured to impart to it a permanent press finish.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear to those skilled in the art from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a flow diagram outlining the steps of the process;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a pair of mens trousers made from permanent press fabric;

FIGURE 3 is an isometric view of the moisture-proof, impermeable envelope;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse sectional view of the envelope taken substantially along the line 4-4 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an isometric view of the envelope containing a portion of the cuffed garment ready for insertion into a heated press;

FIGURE 6 is an isometric view of a heated press in which is positioned an impermeable envelope containing several cuffed garments in position for pressing; and

FIGURE 7 is an isometric view of a heated press in which a portion of the moisture impermeable envelope is fixed to each plate of the press and movable therewith.

Referring now to the drawings, FIGURE 1 illustrates a flow diagram showing the process for breaking down and regenerating the cross-links in the resin of a permanent press fabric that has been previously resin treated and cured as disclosed, for example, in Patent No. 2,974,432.

Example I One embodiment of the invention employs a high percentage of any catalytic agent such as zinc chloride, magnesium chloride, or zinc nitrate which speeds, in a dry atmosphere, the polymerization of the thermosetting resins used in permanent press finishes.

A suitable buffering agent such as ammonium chloride is recommended because it is less strongly acid than the acid salt and raises the pH of the mixture. The amount of tendering which would result from the action of the acid salt by itself is thereby reduced without at the same time reducing the concentration of acid below the amount needed for breaking down the resin cross-links. Satisfactory results have been obtained with a spraying solution consisting of approximately fifty percent (50%) zinc chloride and ten percent ammonium chloride in water.

Example II Satisfactory results have also been obtained with a lower percentage of the catalytic agent, such as zinc chloride, magnesium chloride or zinc nitrate by employing an organic acid such as citric acid. While any other desired organic acid may be used Within the spirit of the invention, such as formic acid or acetic acid, citric acid is preferred because of its low toxicity and because it doesnt deteriorate the fabric. In practice, a spraying solution comprising eight percent (8%) zinc chloride and ten percent (10%) citric acid in water has been found to give comparable results in about the same time as the solution of Example I. In this instance, the citric acid is a stronger acid than the zinc chloride and lowers the pH of the mixture.

The aqueous solutions of both of the foregoing examples give equally satisfactory results when used in accordance with the invention as herein described, but the solution of Example II may be preferable because of the toxicity present when using the percentage of zinc chloride required in Example I. The catalysts and acids listed above are exemplary only and other suitable catalysts and acids may be satisfactorily employed in practicing the invention.

The first step in the process is to lightly spray a selected area of the permanent press fabric, such as the edges of new cuffs, and the undesirable crease of an old cuff with an aqueous catalytic solution as described.

The next step consists of placing the cuff in a moistureproof, impermeable envelope such as that shown in FIG- URE 2. The envelope 10 seals the cuff within the edges 12, so that the cuff is, in effect, confined in an atmosphere of super-heated steam.

The envelope with the cuff inside is placed between the plates of a heated press. During this step, the aqueous solution which has been sprayed on the fabric becomes super-heated steam above its boiling point. The catalytic agent has, in the concentration of Example I, an opposite effect in a super-heated moist atmosphere to that which it has in a dry atmosphere; that is, it breaks the cross-links and/or depolymerizes the resin in the fabric thus allowing the removal of old creases and the formation of new ones. The citric acid in the concentration of Example II breaks down the resin cross-links in an atmosphere of super-heated steam and the lesser concentration of zinc chloride is sufiicient to regenerate the cross-links under dry heat.

The amount of time required for the heating or depolymerization operation will vary depending on the temperature and pressure in the press. For example, a press exerting a pressure of approximately ten to fifteen pounds per square inch and a temperature of 310 F. requires approximately thirty seconds to raise the aqueous solution to the desired temperature of 240 F. However, some presses currently in use exert pressures up to eighty pounds per square inch and temperatures up to 500 F. This would considerably reduce the time required in the press. The substantially impermeable envelope makes it possible to provide the necessary high temperature while still retaining the moisture required to accomplish the breakdown of the cross-links without degradation of the selected area of the fabric.

The last step consists of curing the resin in the fabric as by drying the fabric at a temperature about 300 F. under ten pounds of pressure for about thirty seconds, during which time the moisture is removed and the catalyst, in a dry atmosphere, helps the cross-links to reform and/ or repolymerization of the resin to take place, setting the new crease. The curing time can be reduced by increasing the temperature and pressure. The drying operation may occur either in the envelope after opening the envelope sufiiciently to allow escape of the moisture vapor, or upon removal of the fabric from the envelope and drying in a press or with a hand iron.

FIGURES 3 to 5 illustrate the use of the impermeable envelope 10 in altering a permanent press garment such as cufiing a pair of trousers 16. As shown by FIGURE 3, the envelope 10 is basically a rectangular sheet 14 of moisture impervious material such as a rubberized fabric having a ridge 12 of moisture impervious material secured around the edges of one side. The sheet 14 is then folded along one axis into a V-shaped configuration as shown best in FIGURE 3. One of the cuffed legs 18 of the garment 16 is then inserted in the envelope 10 as shown in FIGURE 5. The resilient edges 12 then are pressed together by the action of the plates of the heated press and form a moisture-proof chamber for the cuffed edge. As stated before the solution is heated under pressure by the press to become super-heated steam, and the impermeable envelope prevents the moisture from escaping.

Severals cuffs 24 may be pressed at once in a modified form of envelope 22 within a press 20 as shown in FIG- URE 6. A platform 26 is desirably positioned in front of the press 20 to hold the upper parts of the garments.

In the modified form of the apparatus as shown in FIGURE 7, part of the impermeable envelope 34 is attached to the upper movable press plate 30 and part is attached to the lower base plate 32. Thus, the envelope is not removed after each pressing operation; only the garment is removed.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for treating selected areas of permanent press garments comprising a heated press, a moistureproof envelope closable about said selected areas of the garment to seal it from the atmosphere, and means for positioning said envelope between the plates of said heated press during the pressing operation.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said moisture-proof envelope comprises a sheet of moisture impervious material, a peripheral ridge of resilient, moisture impervious material extending from one surface of the sheet, and said sheet being folded along one axis between opposed edges to define a V-shaped moisture-proof container for said selected area of the garment when positioned thereab out.

3. A moisture-proof envelope for treating selected areas of permanent press garments comprising a sheet of impermeable material, an impermeable peripheral ridge of resilient material extending from one surface of the sheet, and said sheet being folded along one axis between opposed edges to define a V-shaped impermeable moisture-proof container for said selected areas of Ihe garment when positioned thereabout.

References Cited UNITED FOREIGN PATENTS 1,186,428 8/1959 France.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. STATES PATENTS Sarfert 38144 Warnock et a1. 38144 US. Cl. X.R. Pyke et a1. 38--144 Getchen 22*69 38144; 26-1; 8115.5

5 GEORGE V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner.

@2 3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 5 7 Dated July 9, 1969 Iuventor(s) James De LOaCh ,It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In column 4, line 72, the first occurrence of the word "impermeable" should be deleted and replaced by moisture impervious also in line 72 of column 4 the phrase "an impermeable" should be deleted and replaced by a in line 73 of column 4 after the word "resilient" insert moisture impervious in line 75 of column 4 the word "impermeable" should be deleted.

SIGNED AN'D SEALED APR 1 41970 Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, Ir. WILLIAM E. sum, m. Attesting Officer m 1 91 of Patents 

